Getting Ready for DC Streetcar Service

The DC Streetcar service is expected to kick off at 10 a.m. Saturday (Published Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016)

After years of delays, the DC Streetcar launched passenger service Saturday morning.

Mayor Muriel Bowser kicked things off at 10 a.m. with a ceremony at 13th and H streets NE. Regular service began after the speeches.

The streetcar will make eight stops between Union Station and Benning Road just east of Oklahoma Avenue NE. The smooth, gliding trains will have to compete for the road with cars, cyclists and pedestrians. With no obstacles, the streetcar can get from one end of the 2.4-mile line to the other in about 20 minutes.

But the ride will be longer if an obstacle blocks the tracks. Car crashes needed to be cleared from the path twice during a test ride News4's Adam Tuss took Friday.

DC Streetcar Service to Begin Saturday

News4 transportation reporter Adam Tuss took a test ride on the DC Streetcar a day before the service launches Saturday.